Friday, November 22, 2024

Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews, 296 pages

 Readers will flock to New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews's next installment in the award-winning Meg Langslow series.Meg's neighbors, the Smetkamps', have won a makeover for their old home from Marvelous Mansions, a flashy, yet dubious company, focused on making historic homes more "modern." The company already several days into its makeover of the Smetkamps' house, and tensions are running high--not only between the officious, demanding Mrs. Smetkamp and her neighbors, but also between her and the renovation crew. Meg, who is trying to keep the peace and prevent the makeover crew from trampling on every clause of the county's building code, arrives at the Smetkamps to find that Caerphilly's resident flock of feral turkeys has moved into their yard--or been relocated there by someone who wanted to cause them trouble. The turkeys are huge, territorial, cranky and aggressive - and impossible to move! Meg does what she can to calm down the irate neighbors and help the makeover crew make progress in spite of the turkeys. She comes up with a plan to gather a group of turkey wranglers to snatch them early in the morning. But when they arrive, they find the body of Mrs. Smetkamp in her backyard. Someone stabbed her, and then tried to make it look as if she was attacked by one of the turkeys, but Meg, the Chief, and the Sheriff are not fooled. Together, they must figure out what really happened to Mrs. Smetkamp...and what to do with all these turkeys!




Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan, 453 pages

 A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN…


When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both 'brilliant' (Holly Black) and 'supremely satisfying' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.





Saturday, November 16, 2024

Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics #321, 225 pages

 TWO BRAND NEW STORIES! First, Moose is jealous of Reggie because Midge thinks he’s attractive, but Moose feels he has no sense of style… so it’s B and V to the rescue! Then, things get spooky in Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe (of Horrors!). On a quest to unravel the source of ghoulish happenings, Betty and Veronica stumble upon a dark portal beneath Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe, and with the help of an unexpected phrase, they unleash and then quell its supernatural chaos. …Or did they?




Archie Milestones Jughead's Christmas Special #22, 225 pages

 Celebrate the holidays, Jughead-style! Make some gingerbread houses, leave out cookies for Santa (and try not to eat them first) and enjoy all the Christmas festivities with Archie’s best pal!






Archie's Christmas Stocking #16, 225 pages

 Get ready for some more festive fun with Archie and Friends! From ho-ho-ho hijinks to merry mayhem, these fun Christmas-themed stories have it al



l!



World of Archie Jumbo Comic #135, 225 pages

 TWO BRAND NEW STORIES! First, a week before Christmas, Pow-Girl and Pureheart the powerful discover a band of super-villains are gathering supplies for a major caper and race to uncover the sinister scheme before it can threaten the good people of Riverdale. Then, a tunnel of love ride at the Riverdale Winter Carnival allows riders to see their romantic futures, including some surprising couples!




The Cat Who Lived High by Lilian Jackson Braun, 298 pages

 The colorful Casablanca apartment building is in danger of demolition--but not if Jim Qwilleran can help it. He's determined to restore the building to its original grandeur. So he moves in with Koko and Yum Yum--and discovers that the Casablanca is steeped in history...and mystery. In Qwill's very apartment, a glamorous art dealer met an untimely fate, and the veteran journalist and his crime-solving cats are about to reach new heights in detection as the evidence builds up...and the Casablanca threatens to crumble down around them!